Drabble Series
by Plague's Vengeance
Summary: Drabble series featuring my AtLA and LoK OCs from the rewrite of Open Your Mind/Open Your Heart with the canon characters as a way for me to work through my writer's block in regards to the rewrites. No official pairings but plenty of implied fluff and cuteness. Time frame for each drabble is neither here nor there unless otherwise specified/implied.
1. Bed Thief

**Lien & Mako Drabble 1**  
 _Or Lien invades Mako's apartment, steals his bed, and Mako wonders why he puts up her particular brand of crazy._  
 **Word Count:** 502

* * *

Biting back a yawn, Mako fumbled with his apartment key, exhaustion making his fingers unusually clumsy. As he finally managed to get the front door open and all but tumbled inside his apartment, Mako made a mental note to never, _ever_ agree to take Detective Avani's graveyard shift at the station again, especially after he'd already pulled a double-shift. Overtime pay was crap anyway.

 _At least I get the next two days off._ Mako thought blearily, envisioning falling into his comfortable bed and sleeping for the next two days. He leaned against the door and tried to get his shoes off his feet without bending down. He had a feeling he'd faceplant if he did that.

He got his shoes off, leaving them right in front of the door—he'd put them in their proper place when he woke up—and stumbled towards his bedroom. He pushed open the partially closed door—hadn't he left that open when he left ?—and, stripping out of his uniform, tripped towards his bed in the middle of the room where he promptly collapsed face first onto the sheets. Or at least what he thought was the sheets.

"Gerroffmeh…."

Startled Mako jerked upright and scrambled back, tumbling off the side of the bed. He landed with a loud _thump_ and immediately let loose a colorful litany of curses as his tailbone throbbed.

"Lien!" Mako snarled with enough vexation to make the name sound like a curse and he surged to his feet, exhaustion all but forgotten in the face of this—sadly not uncommon—invasion of his home.

"Why are you being so loud?" Lien slurred. Her pale gold eyes heavy-lidded and sleepy, she blinked up at him before she yawned, stretched out like a contented cat, and rolled over, pulling blankets over her head. "Go back to sleep."

"Go back to-" Mako sputtered and made a strangled noise. "I haven't even _been_ to sleep yet, Lien! I was about to _go to_ sleep when I found you here! In _my_ bed!"

Lien made a noise halfway between a grunt and a growl. "Then shut up and get in bed already, idiot."

"You're in it!"

"So?"

Mako threw his hands in the air with an exasperated groan and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at tuft of white hair peeking out from under his blanket for several seconds before the ridiculous idea that if he closed his eyes and counted to ten, his bed would be Lien-free when he opened his eyes again. Not that it worked all the other times this had happened, but who knew? It might work this time around.

He opened his eyes.

Nope. That damnable white tuft was still peeking out from under his blanket. _Damn_.

Grumbling under his breath and uncrossing his arms, Mako dragged a hand through his mussed hair. "You better not be naked." He grumped as he yanked the blanket back and climbed in the bed behind her.

Lien snorted. "You should be so lucky."


	2. Patience

**Lien, Korra, and Tenzin Drabble 1**  
 _Or Tenzin's patience is tested by the ridiculous sibling rivalry between two pugnacious teenage girls_  
 **Word Count:** 879

* * *

From the moment his father had discovered he was an airbender, Tenzin had been raised to have an Air Monk's patience and emotional control. Now granted, it had been difficult to achieve such a thing growing up with his rambunctious siblings and cousins, Tenzin had fully believed he at least had enough control and patience to handle almost anything.

After all, if he could handle his boisterous children and relatives, what couldn't he handle?

…Two fierce, temperamental, pugnacious, and independent teenage girls, apparently.

Standing before the two bruised and bloody young women, Tenzin had to draw on every one of his father's lessons in meditation to keep from throttling the both of them.

"What happened?" Tenzin asked and silently applauded himself for keeping his tone even and calm.

Korra huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, scowling and looking away from him. Tenzin pursed his lips, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose, and fixed his eyes on his niece, arching a single brow in silent demand.

The eighteen year old shrugged with all the nonchalance of someone who hadn't just gotten into a bloody fist fight. "I kicked her ass."

" _What?!_ " Korra whipped her head around so fast, Tenzin feared she'd snap her neck. Her blue eyes shone with outrage and she jabbed her finger at Lien's chest. "Like hell you did! I totally kicked _your_ ass, windbag!"

Lien snorted derisively and shoved Korra finger from her chest, "In your dreams, _snow savage_."

"What did you just call me?!"

"You heard me, little girl."

The conversation—if he could even be called that—degenerated further from there with the two young women standing chest to chest, despite Lien being at least three inches shorter than Korra, hurling insults and threats at each other.

Tenzin closed his eyes, finally gave in to temptation, and pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to them. He shook his head slowly and prayed to any spirit that would listen that his daughters didn't end up like these two. Spirits save him if _that_ happened. Loud cursing and yelling pulled him from a horrible vision of him having to pick Ikki or Jinora or—spirits help him— _both_ of them up from the police headquarters.

His eyes widened at what he saw and he barked out, " _ **Enough!**_ "

Both girls froze where they were; Lien lying flat on her back on the ground, grappling with Korra who was straddling her waist. Korra looked up at him and Lien tilted her head back. Tenzin bit back a sigh when he saw their expressions; at least his niece had the good grace to at least look mildly abashed. Korra, unsurprisingly, just looked mutinous.

Tenzin fixed them both with a hard stare. "Both of you get up this instant."

Lien lifted her upper body, grabbed a surprised Korra by the shoulders and flung her off her waist. Korra snarled and took a swipe at the other girl, but Lien had already rolled to her feet and danced out of arms reach.

"Korra!" Tenzin snapped, patience completely gone now. The young Avatar looked up at him, grumbled something unintelligible and got to her feet, shooting evil looks in Lien's direction. Lien retorted by baring her teeth in a feral grin that would have been at home on the face of a dragon. A _hungry_ dragon.

Tenzin cleared his throat, pulling their gazes back to him, and he gave them a stern look. "You both should be ashamed of yourselves for behaving in such an abhorrent manner." He looked at Lien with a disappointed frown, "Lien, I expected better from the Fire Nation princess."

Lien pursed her lips and crossed her arms, looking down at her feet. Tenzin stared at the top of her head for a moment then turned his disappointed frown on Korra. She looked vaguely smug, the corner of her mouth quirked upward just a bit. That just wouldn't do.

"And Korra," She looked at him and Tenzin sighed and slowly shook his head. "Korra, you are the Avatar. People expect you to act above reproach." He watched as her shoulders slumped and she ducked her head. Tenzin reached out and placed his hands on both of the girls' shoulders, waiting until they both looked up at him again.

"I understand that you are both young and that you feel a sort of rivalry towards one another, but an incident like this cannot happen again. Do you understanding?"

"Yes, Uncle."

"Yes, Master Tenzin."

"Good." Tenzin nodded approvingly, removed his hands from their shoulders, and clasped them behind his back. "Now, as for your punishment, both of you will be cleaning the sky bison dens for the next two weeks, starting today."

Korra opened her mouth to protest, but Lien elbowed her sharply in the side and, ignoring the annoyed look the taller girl cast her way, Lien bowed.

"We'll start right now, Uncle." She turned on her heel and started walking out of the courtyard. "Let's go, Avatar."

Korra said something nasty under her breath and stormed after the shorter girl, her entire posture screaming mutiny. Tenzin watched their retreating backs and smirked just a little.

Maybe he _could_ handle a pair of fierce, temperamental, pugnacious, and independent teenage girls.


	3. Takeout

**Mako & Lien Drabble 2  
** _Or Mako Plays Doctor and Doesn't Have to Arrest Lien for Murder  
_ **Word Count:** 700

* * *

When Mako walked into his apartment after a long day at Headquarters, the last thing he had expected to see was the Fire Nation Crown Princess, shirtless, sitting on his dining table and trying to wrap gauze around her left shoulder and ribs when he opened the door.

Mako blinked once, heaved a weary sigh, and stepped fully into his apartment, kicking his shoes off as he closed the door. "If I ask what happened, will I have to arrest you?"

"…No?"

"So that's a 'yes', then." Mako reiterated Lien's hedged reply drily as he walked over to her, setting the bag of takeout on the table beside her. She wordlessly held the gauze out to him and he took it; this situation had happened often enough in the past few years that it was almost normal for him now.

"So what happened?" Mako asked as he began bandaging her shoulder and ribs. She'd only gotten about halfway done on her own, so he could still see most of the ugly patina of bruises on her left side.

"Are you going to arrest me if I tell you?" Lien questioned and she glanced over her shoulder with a wry quirk to her mouth. Mako rolled his eyes at her.

"As long as you didn't kill anyone, no." There was a few beats of silence and Mako stopped bandaging her ribs, tone wary. "You _didn't_."

"No!" Lien replied defensively, shooting him an affronted look over her shoulder, and Mako relaxed and continued patching her up. Of course her next sentence almost made him stop again. "At least I don't think so…"

"Lien!" He groaned and tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling in exasperation.

Lien snorted a laugh. "I'm kidding, Mako. Do you really think I'd kill someone?"

"Yes." He didn't even hesitate. Lien wasn't sure if she should be offended by that or not.

"Well fine," Lien huffed, deciding to _be_ offended by his utter lack of faith in her control. "Do you really think I would kill someone and tell _you_ , a cop? I'm not stupid, Hotshot."

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Mako shot back as he tied off the bandage. _I know you're not stupid, Lien, but I know you. You'd probably tell me just because you'd want to see if you could get away with it._ Mako thought dryly. What worried him was that she probably _could_ get away with it.

Lien wisely decided against replying and changed to subject, nodding towards the paper sack beside her. "Mongke's?"

"Yeah." Mako stood up and headed into the small kitchenette connected to the living/dining room. When he came back with two sets of chopsticks, Lien had climbed off the table and taken a seat on the floor and was removing the takeout cartons from the paper bag.

She sniffed at the takeout carton she had just taken out, her brow furrowing. She looked at him as he sat down across from her and shook the carton at him. "This is sweet and sour komodo-rhino. You hate sweet and sour komodo-rhino."

"I know." Mako drawled as he handed her a pair of chopsticks, picked up one of the cartons, checked the contents, and set it aside. "But, for some reason, you like it that nasty crap."

"You knew I'd be here." Lien ignored his slight against her favorite food, far more focused on figuring out how he knew she'd be at his apartment. Honestly, she didn't even know why she was there either; other than the fact that it had been the first safe place to pop into her head when she'd been injured. "How?"

Mako glanced at her incredulous—and more than a little suspicious—expression and smirked. He shrugged nonchalantly and picked up another carton to check its contents. "I had a feeling."

Lien stared at him intently for a second then her lips twitched into a slow half-smile, the dimple in her left cheek flashing briefly, and she looked down at her sweet and sour komodo-rhino, happily picking up a piece and popping it into her mouth.

Mako smirked down at his own carton of spicy roast duck and started to eat.


	4. Puppy

**Korra & Lien Modern Drabble 1  
** _Or Korra Brings Home an Abandoned Puppy and Lien's Atrophied Heartstrings Are Tugged On  
_ **Word Count:** 613

* * *

"What the hell is this?"

Lien stared blankly at the drooling ball of white fluff Korra had shoved in her hands moments ago, holding the…the _thing_ at arms-length.

"It's a puppy." Korra replied distractedly as she tore through their apartment kitchen in search of something or other. Lien wasn't really sure what; all she knew was that there was a furry monstrosity staring at her and getting drool all over her bare feet. Oblivious, Korra dropped to her knees in front of the cabinet where they kept their canned food.

She grimaced and tried to hold the thing further away from her person. "Yes, I'm aware of what it _is_. What I was asking was; _why the hell did you bring it home?_ "

Korra peeked over the counter to look at Lien with a perplexed expression. "Uh, because some asshole just abandoned her in a dumpster? I mean, look at her Lien, she's just a baby."

As if on que, the white puppy whined and wiggled in Lien's hands, its oversized paws kicking weakly before it went limp again, apparently exhausted. Lien tried not to sneer. She really did. But she liked dogs about as much as she liked kids…which was to say, not at all.

"It's a _dog,_ Lien, not the bloody plague." Korra chided exasperatedly. She ducked back down to continue looking through the canned goods, searching for the small can of powered puppy milk replacer from when Bolin had brought home a ferret kit a few months back. "She's scared and hungry, so just like hold her close or something until I'm done."

Lien pursed her lips and eyed the pitiful beast she was holding at arms-length. The puppy stared back at her, dark eyes forlorn and pathetic, bushy tail hanging limp. As much as she hated to admit it—she'd deny it until she was blue in the face when Korra brought it up later—the puppy's pitiful appearance tugged at Lien's atrophied heartstrings (but just a little bit), so with great—and mostly feigned—reluctance, she cradled the puppy against her chest.

The puppy mewed and snuggled closer. Lien's hard expression softened marginally and she gently stroked the puppy's back, fingers feeling her spine even through her thick fur. Lien could feel Korra's smug gaze on her and she could feel her hackles rising, but she forced herself to ignore her roommate satisfaction.

"If you're looking for that powdered milk crap Bolin bought for his ferret, it's on the top shelf in the pantry." Lien stated, her voice drier than the Si Wong Desert, and she stalked out of the kitchen to sit in the living room.

Korra tripped over to the pantry on the other side of the kitchen, pumping her fist in the air when she saw the can of puppy milk replacement right where Lien had said it would be. She snatched it off the shelf and rushed to prepare it. About halfway through the preparation process, she paused and scratched her head when something dawned on her.

"Uh…Lien?" Korra poked her head around the corner, smiling sheepishly at Lien. "Where's the bottle Bolin used to feet Pabu?"

Lien didn't look up from the puppy curled up on her lap as she replied flatly. "Cabinet above the fridge, left side."

"Totally knew that!" Korra disappeared back into the kitchen. There were several thumps and thuds, followed by colorful curses. Lien rolled her eyes and exhaled heavily through her nose, drawing the puppy's attention.

"She's an idiot." She told the dog. "And I feel sorry for you that it was her that rescued you."

The puppy sneezed, spraying snot all over Lien's stomach.

"Oh _fuck_ this _."_


	5. Neighbors

**Zuko and Xia Modern Drabble 1  
** _Or Zuko gets a new neighbor who doesn't know what sleep is and can't listen to her music at a normal level. And goddammit he needs to fucking sleep!_

 **Word Count:** 1451

* * *

The deep bass thumping through the walls woke Zuko from a dead sleep. Like it had every night for the past _fucking week_ since his neighbor had moved in _._ He groaned and grabbed his pillow, yanking it over his head in the hopes that it would drown out the heavy bass shaking his bedroom walls.

The pillow wasn't working.

 _Sonovabitch._ Zuko thought viciously as he ripped the pillow off his head and rolled out of bed. He had to be at work in—he took a quick glance at his alarm clock and swore—three hours for a company meeting and only getting four hours of sleep was not the best way to deal with the stuffy old gasbags that made up his father's board of directors.

He stormed through his apartment, hell-bent on giving the obnoxious asshole next door a piece of his mind. Or decking the bastard, Zuko hadn't decided on which yet as he threw his front door open and stomped out into the hallway.

There were only two apartment suites on his floor; his and the one across from him and until a week ago, that apartment had been unoccupied—and his sleep had been uninterrupted. The door to the second apartment was positioned across from and to the left of his, a few feet from the stairs whereas his door was closer to the elevator at the opposite end of the hall.

Zuko slammed his fist against the wooden door, noting with some disgust that it was vibrating. The music—if it could be called that—had switched from teeth rattling bass to what sounded like an odd meld of violin and dubstep.

He banged on the door some more but surprise, surprise, there was no response. Zuko growled, grabbed the doorknob, and charged into the apartment, his anger and frustration clouding his mind or else he would have realized, that hey, the door should have been _locked_. He ended up completely ignoring the little voice—it sounded suspiciously like his uncle—at the back of his mind telling him that he probably shouldn't be doing what he was.

The music was even louder inside the apartment, rattling his teeth inside his skull and drowning out all other sound. But it certainly didn't do anything to his sight that was for sure and what he saw had him skidding to a stop, anger and frustration being replaced by disbelief.

Zuko had only been inside this apartment once before and that was two years ago, when he had inspected both apartments before ultimately choosing the one he lived in now. The two apartments had been mirror images of each other with two bedrooms, en suite and a guest bathroom, a large living/dining room, and a good sized kitchen. Then his sister, Azula and her girlfriend Ty Lee, had taking over the interior decorating of his home and turned it into an ultramodern backdrop of chrome, glass, and black cushions.

Zuko was no interior decorator like Ty Lee, but even he could tell that whoever had done the interior design of this place had gone in the complete opposite direction she and his sister had; all the furniture was mismatched and looked as if it had been picked up from a yard sale or a thrift store, there was no set color scheme with everything painted as if a bunch of people had grabbed random cans of paint and went nuts on the walls (seriously one of the walls looked as if a blind person had painted it), and the décor was eclectic to say the least. The only thing that didn't look like it was bought from a secondhand flea market was the absolutely giant stereo and entertainment system set in the far back corner.

And although Zuko's gaze lingered appreciatively on said stereo and entertainment system for several seconds, his attention was mostly focused on the short figure dancing in the cleared space of what would have been the living/dining room.

He gawked, all thoughts of decking his neighbor fleeing his mind.

And honestly who could really blame him? The girl currently jumping, spinning, flipping, and bending in time to the music pumping from the surround sound speakers was more than a little captivating. Her petite, lithe body moved with grace and precision; her movements were, all at once, sharp and fluid. It almost looked as if she was _gliding_ across the wood floor. It was stunning.

The girl suddenly spun around, spotted Zuko—in all his shirtless glory since he hadn't bothered to put one on in his blind frustration—and faltered mid-pirouette. Her ankle rolled and she went down with a yelp.

"Shit!"

Zuko snapped out of his daze and rushed towards her, "Crap, are you okay?"

"Who the hell are you? Why are in my apartment? _How_ are you in my apartment? And _where are you clothes?!_ " She demanded, swatting at his hands when he tried to help her and backing away from him. She pointed a finger at him, her expression fierce. "I'm warning you, buddy, I'm a black belt."

 _Good for you, so am I._ Zuko thought dryly, trying not to roll his eyes as he sat back on his heels. "Look, I'm not here to-" He grimaced, "Molest you or anything, but I have to be at work in a few hours and I can't sleep with that racket you're blaring."

"My music is _not_ racket!" The girl protested with a fierce, offended scowl.

"Whatever. It's loud and obnoxious, so could you turn it down?"

The girl grumbled something and rolled to her feet, limping her way over to the stereo and turning the music down until it was mere background noise. She turned back towards him, one brow arched almost imperiously. "There, happy?"

"Extremely." Zuko retorted sarcastically as he straightened up. "Thank you _so_ much for being a decent human being."

"You're welcome."

 _Ugh._ Zuko shook his head and stalked out of the apartment, frustration back in full, and he slammed her apartment door on his way out. He had just opened his apartment door and was about to step inside when he heard the girl's door open and her voice call out to him.

"Wait!" She was standing in her doorway, holding onto the doorframe and looking sheepish, messy brown hair falling around her face.

He turned with his hand wrapped around the doorknob, a frown knitting his brow, and he glared at her. "What?"

The girl winced at his waspish tone, but Zuko refused to feel guilty about it— _she_ had woken _him_ up with her obnoxious music and then acted like he was at fault for asking her to turn it down after all. He had a right to be annoyed, damn it. She edged out of her apartment and shuffled towards him, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Look, I'm sorry for being a bitch." The girl apologized when she reached him, sounding genuinely sincere. She offered him an abashed smile, "I react badly when I'm startled by overly attractive, half-naked men."

Zuko arched a brow at that, letting go of the doorknob to cross his arms over his chest. "'Overly attractive'?"

Her eyes widened, her freckled cheeks darkening with the force of her blush and she coughed into her hand. "Yeah, well…" She waved a hand at his chest. "You're, uh…yeah, you know what can you just forget I said that while I go find a hole to crawl into?"

Zuko decided to take pity on her, but just this once, and stuck his hand out. "How about we start over? I'm Zuko Ryuuji."

"Xia Sangye." Grinning, she grasped his hand with her much smaller one and shook it firmly. Zuko noticed it was completely covered in an intricate tattoo that seemed to extend up under the sleeve of her tight, long sleeved shirt. "Nice to meet you, Zuko. I'll try to keep my music down from now on."

Zuko nodded stiffly and released her hand, stepping inside his apartment. "You do that."

Just as he was about to completely shut his door, he could have sworn he heard her mutter;

"Or maybe I won't, if it means seeing him shirtless again."

Zuko smirked and feeling more than a little male satisfaction, called out to her. "At least invite me over for dinner before you start objectifying me."

"Oh my God!"

He laughed when he heard her mortified squeak, followed by the quick pitter-patter of her feet as she ran back to her apartment, the door slamming shut moments later. Maybe his new neighbor wasn't has horrible as he initially believed.

Smirking to himself, he headed back to bed.

In any case, he definitely planned on at least inviting _her_ out to dinner…but only after he's had a full night of uninterrupted sleep.


	6. Laundry Room

**Zuko & Xia Modern Drabble 2  
 _AU OTP Tumblr Prompt:_** _"_ _E_ _scaped to the laundry room to avoid hearing my room-mates having extremely loud sex only to find you're here doing the same thing."  
_ **Word Count** : 987

* * *

Armed with his laptop, headphones, and a notebook, Zuko trudged grimly into the dorm laundry room at three A.M. The entire place was deserted, though there were a couple hampers and baskets resting on several of the washing machines. Zuko avoided those, setting his sides on washer at the very back right next to the rows of dryers—it was perpetually broken and it was honestly the perfect place to sit and work on his remixes since the nook kept him from being seen.

Of course he preferred to work in his room, where he had all of his equipment and didn't have to worry about people at _all_ , but unfortunately for him, his asshole roommate—the one person he actually did have to worry about—had spent the last week, including tonight, making up with his girlfriend. Loudly.

He hopped on top of the washer and leaned back against the wall, stretching his legs out and resting his laptop on his lap.

"You too, huh?"

The voice startled Zuko and he jumped which nearly sent his laptop careening off his lap and onto the floor. He jerked his headphones off his head and looked in the voice's direction. But all he was the sides of the double stacked dryers in front of him.

"Up here."

Zuko lifted his eyes and was startled to see a girl he vaguely recognized from somewhere—Sociology class maybe?—sprawled out on top of the dryers, partly hanging over the side to look at him. He blinked and opened his mouth—

"How the hell did you get up there?"

She arched a brow at his abrupt tone. "I climbed."

She _climbed?_ From what he could vaguely remembered of her, the girl was barely five feet tall. Even standing on the washing machine he was sitting on, he couldn't figure out how she _climbed_ on top of the dryers. What was she, part squirrel?

"So?" The girl, peering down at him curiously from her perch, prompted. "You get kicked out of your room too?"

Zuko grimaced and refocused on his laptop, pulling up his remixing program. "Something like that, yeah."

"Ohhhh, I see." He glanced up at her and saw her nodding sagely. "I take it your roommate has obnoxiously loud sex too?"

Zuko sputtered, face going red, but the girl continued on obliviously.

"That's why I'm here." She tilted her head, brown hair falling over her shoulder. "Of course my roommate has her girlfriend _and_ her boyfriend—he's a screamer—over, so double—or is it triple?—the noise. Hey you want a soda?"

She disappeared from view for half a second then reappeared with a can of Dr. Pepper which she held out to him, dimpling at him happily. Zuko eyed the soda can in disbelief, wondering where exactly she had been keeping it.

"I have a cooler up here. I've learned to be prepared when I have to hide out in here." She explained, no doubt seeing the slight sneer on his face. She smirked a little and shook the can at him. "It's not poison or anything."

Zuko eyed her narrowly for a long moment, but her expression was open and honest. He took the can from her, fingers brushing hers, and popped the top. She beamed when he took a sip, folding her arms and resting her chin on them.

"Have we met before? You look familiar."

Zuko shrugged one shoulder and looked at his laptop, intent on getting back to his remixes but of course the girl just wouldn't shut up. God, he almost regretted come to the laundry room to work.

She snapped her fingers and pointed a finger at him, "I remember you! You're one of Sokka's roommates! The grumpy one who scowls all the time." Zuko glowered up at her, scowling fiercely, and she jabbed her finger at his face. "Yes, just like that!"

The acidic retort was on the tip of his tongue, but she looked so happy and proud of herself, the grin splitting her face creating wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and showing off the deep dimples she had in her cheeks, Zuko forced himself to swallow it down by taking a sip of soda.

"Yeah," He grunted without looking at it her—it was easier that way.

 _Thump._

Zuko glanced up and pursed his lips when he saw the girl was now standing on between his feet which were pressed against the dryer side. He stared at the medley of tattoos decorating almost every inch of the tanned skin of her legs.

Zuko jerked his eyes up when she sat down between his legs, shifting hers so they were draped over his, and rested her hands on the dryer between her thighs. She leaned forward—apparently she had no concept of personal space—and looked at him expectantly, "So what's your name? Sokka's always calling you the Angry Jerk or Prince Grumpy."

Brows furrowing darkly, Zuko made a mental note to burn his other roommate's collection of boomerangs the next chance he got. She was still looking at him, amber eyes bright, and Zuko exhaled harshly through his nose, resigning himself to not getting any of his remixes done. _Damn it._

"My name's Zuko." He replied sourly, closing his laptop and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Zuko." She repeated, his name rolling off her tongue like a caress that had him shifting uncomfortably in place. He wondered if she did it on purpose. Zuko got his answer a second later when she grinned brightly, her dimples digging almost painfully into her cheeks.

"It's nice to meet you, Zuko!" She chirped and thrust one intricately tattooed hand at him, "I'm Xia."

Zuko stared at her hand warily for a second then slowly uncrossed one of his arms and grasped the tiny appendage with his own. "Yeah, nice to meet you too…" He hesitated for a heartbeat, "… _Xia_."


	7. Doormats

**Korra & Lien Modern AU Drabble  
Tumblr's Unblocking Writer's Block Writing Prompt #141: That's What They Said -** _"Who the fuck keeps stealing my_ doormat?"  
 **Word Count:** 403

* * *

"Okay, who the _fuck_ keeps stealing the doormat?

Lien, sitting on the couch, tilted her head back and arched a brow at her roommate; Korra, sweaty from her mixed martial arts practice, was standing in the doorway of their apartment, one hand still wrapped around the doorknob with the other propped on her hip. She was scowling at the empty space where their doormat was _supposed_ to be with fierce resentment.

Not again. Lien straightened her neck and returned attention to her book. "Again? That's the third time this week."

"I know!" Korra raged as she stomped inside, dropping her gym bag on the floor and slamming the door behind her. "What kind of asshole keeps stealing doormats for Tui's sake?!"

At the last word, she tossed her hands in the air and jumped over the back of the couch, landing on the cushion beside Lien. Ignoring the irritated look her roommate sent her, Korra huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, mumbling sulkily under her breath;

"And I really liked that one too. I nailed it down and _everything_ and still some asshat took it!"

"Obviously they're just as obsessed with ridiculous novelty doormats as you are." Lien murmured smartly as she turned the page. She had long since lost interest in the conversation—it wasn't like they didn't have the exact same exchange every single time their doormats disappeared—but Korra needed to vent or else she'd just continue bringing the topic up through the rest of the day.

"They should buy their own." Korra grumped crossly. Her bottom lip was sticking out in an annoyed pout and she was glaring at the coffee table. "And when I found the dipstick that keeps stealing my doormats, I'm going to tell him to do that. With my _fist_."

Lien hummed noncommittally and turned the page again. She felt that it would be wise to refrain from mentioning that she knew who exactly was stealing Korra's precious doormats. After all, their upstairs neighbor Mako was a cop and would arrest Korra for decking his younger brother and roommate (the doormat thief). Lien had already reached her 'bail Korra out of jail' quota for the month, thank you very much.

The fact that Bolin made delicious _sata andagi_ and would probably stop bringing some by because Korra decked him had nothing to do with her decision to keep silent.

Nope. Nothing at all.


	8. Adoption

**Zuko & Xia Modern AtLA AU Drabble  
** **Tumblr's Unblocking Writer's Block Writing Prompt #99: That's What They Said -** _"I may have adopted a dragon. It was a total accident. But, technically, there is a dragon in the kitchen and it may or may not be eating all your pancakes."  
_ **Word Count:** 162

* * *

"I may have adopted a dragon."

Zuko paused just as he stepped inside the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, her words not quite registering in his brain. He stared at her blankly. "What?"

"I may or may not have adopted a dragon." Xia reiterated. Zuko furrowed his brows and she continued in a rush, "It was a total accident, I swear. But, uh," She rubbed the back of her head and didn't quite meet his eyes, "Technically there _is_ a dragon in the kitchen and it may or may not be eating all the pancakes I made for you."

She fidgeted with her hands and sheepishly looked up at him through her messy bangs, cheeks dimpling with a smile of—completely feigned—apology. Zuko just continued to stare at her blankly for several more heartbeats then he sighed heavily, turned and thumped his head against the door a few times.

Only him. _Why_ did these things always only happen to him?


	9. Ambiguity

_**Prompts on Paper Tumblr Prompt**  
Or Literally An Ambiguous As Hell Drabble That Could Be Any Of The Characters  
_ **Word Count:** 29

* * *

"Do you trust me?"

"Nope."

"Could you try?"

"Nope."

"Then this plan is really not going to work."

"Yup."

"You are such a dick."

"Yup."

"I really hate you."


	10. Stop Stealing

**The Royal Five Drabble 1  
Witter Prompts Tumblr Prompt - **_"Stop stealing everyone's stuff."  
_ **Word Count:** 278

* * *

 _Oh for the love of-_ Lien shot an exasperated look at Eshe as her cousin popped up beside her, fiddling with a watch that was definitely _not_ hers. She stopped walking and Eshe's shoulder, signing sternly when she looked at her. _"Go put that back. Right now."_

"Busted." Akamu murmured to his twin sister as they stopped just behind Lien and Eshe.

Eshe pouted and shoulder-checked Akamu as she slunk back over to the oblivious man she'd just pickpocketed. Sagni, standing beside Lien, shook his head and sighed at the fifteen year old's antics.

"What's the count now?" He asked dryly, folding his muscular arms over his chest.

"Today? Twenty-five." Akela replied with a proud smirk. "Since we've been here…"

"Three hundred and ninety-two." Lien grumped, eyes narrowing at Eshe as the young girl returned to her side. _"If you get caught, I'm not bailing you out."_

"Ah, don't be such a hardass, Cousin." Akamu chortled and tossed his thick arms over Eshe's thin shoulders as the quintet continued down the street.

"She's just having a bit of fun, Lien." Akela quipped as she moved to walk on Eshe's other side. She playfully ruffled her black hair, speaking as she signed. " _Right, Eshe?"_

" _Just some fun."_ Eshe signed back with a grin, grey eyes sparkling with mischief.

Sagni shook his head chidingly, "Don't encourage her, you two. We're not in the Fire Nation. She can't just go around picking people's pockets because she's bored. She could get in some real trouble."

" _Hardasses."_ Akela and Akamu signed simultaneously and Eshe giggled, bobbing her head in agreement.

…

There was a wallet in her hands.

" _Stop stealing everyone's stuff, Eshe!"_

* * *

Sagni (roughly pronounce SAN-jee) is Azula's grandson.  
Eshe and Akela & Akamu are Zuko and Xia's grandchildren like Lien. Yes, Eshe is deaf.


	11. Coffee

**Zuko & Xia Modern Drabble 3  
 _Unblocking Writer's Block Writing Prompt #385: How They Met-  
_** _It's 4 o'clock in the morning and we both ended up at a dingy diner and we're the only people here besides the waitress. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?  
_ **Word Count:** 1,665

* * *

Yawning, Zuko rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand and opened the door to the dingy diner with the other. The little bell above the door jingled making him grimace and glare up at it before shuffling inside the establishment.

He'd been studying for his finals for the past two days straight, without sleep, driving both of his roommates—and apparently their girlfriends—insane because of it. Sokka had finally had enough and kicked him out of their apartment so he and Aang could have a movie night with their girlfriends, which was way he was currently inside the dingy diner five minutes away from his apartment at four in the morning.

The waitress, an older woman with hard eyes, glanced up from the magazine she had spread out on the bar top and looked right back down again. Zuko rolled his eyes. What excellent customer serve this place has.

Zuko covered another yawn with his hand and shuffled towards the bar, landing heavily on one of the tattered stool. He folded his arms on the bar top and rested his head on them, exhaling tiredly. He contemplated ordering a coffee—his stomach growled, pointedly reminded him that he hadn't eaten in who knows how long—and possibly something greasy enough to shave a year off his life. Ultimately he decided the effort it would take to lift his head, flag down the disinterested waitress, and order something was not really worth it. His stomach growled again and he mentally told it to shut up.

"Rough night?" The laughing, feminine voice roused him from the stupor he'd fallen into. The etiquette lessons that had been drilled into his head since birth demanded that he lift his head and respond to the mystery woman's question. The exhausted, anti-social part of his brain told those etiquette lessons to go fuck themselves.

Zuko sighed and decided to comprise by turning his head to the left, towards the voice. The girl sitting one bar stool away from him looked vaguely familiar but for the life of him, Zuko couldn't pinpoint where he'd seen her before.

She was tiny—her feet barely brushed the bottom rung of the barstool—and his mind was apparently awake enough to acknowledge the fact that she was cute; amber brown eyes that almost looked orangey in the diner's bad lighting stared out of a heavily freckled, round face with full cheeks, small nose, and a wide mouth currently quirked in a small impish half smile that showed off an impressive set of dimples.

The tank top and athletic shorts she was wearing did very little to hide the intricate tattoos that decorated every visible inch of her light golden brown skin from her neck down; even her feet, which were bare, a pair of flip-flops lying under her stool, and her fingers were tattooed.

Not his usual type, but still cute in an edgy, bohemian kind of way.

His sluggish brain finally remembered where he'd seen her before. Her pictures were all over his second roommate's bedroom. "You're Aang's sister."

Aang, his other roommate beside Sokka, was several years his junior and a musical prodigy. Great kid, a little too hyperactive and naïve at times, but he wasn't the worst person Zuko had ever roomed with—that particular title went to his crazy younger sister—and his sister was always sending him care packages full of the oddest things. She'd sent him a staff with wings attached to it just last month, called it a glider or something.

The girl—he searched his weary mind futile for her name, but couldn't find it—tipped her coffee mug in his direction. Her eyes laughed at him from over the rim. "Yup."

She obviously knew who he was, knew he didn't remember her name and she obviously wasn't going to help him out by giving it to him. He groped for something polite to say, something worthy of his etiquette lessons before finally giving up the ghost. He was too tired for that shit anyway.

He sighed and admitted bluntly, "I don't remember you name."

Amber brown eyes still laughing, she carefully set her mug down and leaned toward him. She extended one tattooed hand over the barstool separating them. "I'm Xia Sangye."

Zuko forced himself to lift his head the rest of the way, uncross one of his arms and grasp her hand with his. "Zuko Ryuuji."

"I know."

Of course she does.

Her lips pursed and Zuko got the feeling she was trying really hard not to laugh. It was a little insulting and very annoying. That was why the next thing that came out of his mouth would have gotten him smacked by his mother.

"Why are you here? I thought you lived in a hick town in the mountains or something."

"I moved." Xia replied lightly, not looking the least bit offended by his waspish question. In fact, she just looked even more amused than before, sipping daintily at her mug. She set the mug down and spun on the stool, resting her hands on the cracked leather between her thighs. "So what brings you to this humble establishment at four AM?"

He scowled when he remembered the reason he was at this salmonella outbreak waiting to happen in first place. "Sokka kicked me out."

"Ah." She nodded sagely and changed the subject. "So since we're the only two souls dumb enough to actually be here at four in the morning, want me to buy you a cup of coffee?"

"Uh…" Zuko faltered and blinked at her in surprise. He didn't know this girl from Eve and she wanted to buy him coffee. "Sure?"

"Great." She chirped then clambered over the bar.

"What are you doing!?"

Xia gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was mentally deficient, "Getting you a cup of coffee."

Zuko leaned over the bar and hissed at her, "Are you crazy? You can't go back there!"

"Sure, I can. Doris doesn't mind." Xia raised her voice, pitching so it carried over to the waitress at the other end of the bar. "Right, Doris?"

"Just don't have sex on the bar, kid." Doris replied drolly without looking up from her magazine.

"No promises, doll." Xia quipped back lightly as she fiddled with coffeemaker.

Zuko's eyes bugged and jaw dropping in mortification. He went bright red and his face in his arms. He was starting to regret not telling Sokka to shove it when he kicked him out of the apartment. Soft laughter had him lifting his head and he glared at the petite young woman leaning on the bar top directly in front of him.

She smiled. "Sokka was right. You _are_ ridiculously uptight, aren't you?"

"Sokka needs to learn to keep his mouth shut." Zuko grumped darkly. He would be more than happy to teach the younger man how to do that.

"Oh, I don't know, Toph seems to enjoy his mouth when it's open."

Zuko made a strangled noise and pinched his eyes closed, gritting out. "You're a menace."

"Yup." Xia chirped and sat a mug full of freshly brewed coffee in front of him. "Now drink your coffee before you have an apoplexy. Those aren't sexy, you know."

Zuko scowled at her, but picked up the mug and took a sip, expecting it to taste horrible. It didn't and he pulled the mug away from his mouth, staring at it in surprise. Xia gave him a smug smile and sipped from her refilled mug.

They drank in silence, the only sound coming Doris flipping the pages of magazine a few feet away. It was, Zuko grudgingly admitted to himself, a little relaxing. The tension that had accumulated in his shoulders and neck over the last two days loosened some and he slouched a bit on his stool.

He glanced up and noticed Xia was watching him, an odd little smile curling her lips. He narrowed his eyes at her and frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head, that odd little smile still on her face. "You're cuter when you don't look like you've got a stick shoved up your ass, is all."

"…Thanks."

She laughed and murmured into her mug. "Guess I spoke too soon, the stick is back."

"Are you like this with everyone or am I just lucky?" Zuko demanded drily, also taking a drink of his coffee.

Her eyes laughed at him and she sat her mug down, leaning almost halfway over the bar top. "I'm sorry. I get weird when I try to flirt with overly attractive guys."

 _She was flirting?_ Zuko stared at her like an idiot for several moments then sat his mug down next to hers and leaned forward until there was only an inch or so of space between their noses. He heard more than saw her swallow thickly and he smirked smugly. "Overly attractive, huh? For some reason, I don't think that has anything to do with how weird you act."

Her amber brown eyes sparked and his smirk widened. At least until she leaned closer, her nose only a hairsbreadth from his own. "Maybe. I guess you'll just have to take me on a date and find out."

That…actually sounded interesting. She wasn't his type at all, but maybe that was a good thing. Staring into her laughing eyes, Zuko felt his own smile—not a smirk—tug at his lips.

"Guess so."

"I said no sex on the bar. That includes eye sex and mind fucking each other." Doris grouched loudly from by the register.

"Doris!"

Zuko sat back and shook his head, laughing silently as he picked up his mug and took a drink. His face felt hot, but whether it was from embarrassment or something else was anybody's guess. All he knew was that Xia looked really cute as she glowered at the older woman down the bar.

He was definitely going to take her out to dinner.


End file.
